Jake shook his head, bewildered. "This is crazy, Lai Hua! Explain what you're
sayin
'."
A single tear overflowed Lai Hua's brimming eyes, and she took a short, shaky breath. "I declared my love and my loyalty to you, Mr. Jake, and you knew it to be strong, unyielding. So was my trust. I spoke freely to you, told you of my regard for my mistress, who had treated me with a respect and courtesy I have not received from others of your race. I said I would put no one else before you, and I have kept that promise because of my love. But love cannot take the place of honor in one's heart."
"Damn it, Lai Hua"
"The last night we were together I told you of Miss Devina's party. I told you of the great number of guests invited and the confusion that was expected. You took my words to your friend so he could use them to satisfy his vengeance."
"Lai Hua, I didn't…" Jake started to deny the accusation, then changed his mind. "I mean, I didn't do it on purpose. I mentioned it to Ross and he"
"My words were the seeds that bore the fruit of my mistress's abduction. It is I who carry the blame, the guilt."
"The guilt doesn't fall on you, Lai Hua. Hell, if there's any guilt to be placed, it should be put on Harvey Dale's shoulders for the
lyin
' and
cheatin
' that killed Ross's pa and put Ross in jail!"
"Mr. Dale is an evil man who has earned the hatred of many. I owe such a man no allegiance, but it is not of him I speak now. Miss Devina is blameless of her father's crimes, and I am dishonored by her betrayal."
"Dishonored?"
"I will not be free to take joy in my own life until I am free of that dishonor."
Jake shook his head, his pale eyes incredulous. "You can't be
askin
' what I think you're
askin
', Lai Hua."
"I ask only that which will free me from the burden of being dishonored. I ask that you free Miss Devina."
A stillness began to consume Jake. He spoke from the depths of that numbness. "And if I can't do as you ask?"
Lai Hua paused. Her lips trembled, but her eyes were unyielding. "A woman without honor is worthy of no man."
"If anyone isn't worthy, it's me. You know what I
aman
ex-convict and a thief!"
Lai Hua did not respond and, filled with despair, Jake reached out and pulled her into his arms. He held her close. He felt her shuddering and her pain as she raised her tear-streaked face to his.
"You have more honor than any woman I've ever known, Lai Hua. And I want you,
darlin
'. I want you more than I can ever say."
Slowly lowering his head, Jake covered Lai Hua's quivering lips with his own. He tasted the salt of her tears and consumed them hungrily, hoping to erase Lai Hua's sorrow with the warmth of his loving. Her mouth was still unresponsive beneath his, and he crushed her closer, his lips devouring hers. He kissed her again, his desperation growing as she remained still and cold as stone.
Drawing slowly back from her; Jake swallowed with difficulty, his eyes not moving from Lai Hua's sober face. "Lai Hua, you know I can't do what you ask." His low whisper was strained. "Have you stopped
lovin
' me,
darlin
'?"
Jake waited for long, anguished seconds as Lai Hua struggled to speak. When she did, her voice held a low note of finality that froze his heart.
"Love is a noble emotion. As a woman without honor, it is beyond my reach."
"Lai Hua…"
"Good- bye, Mr. Jake."
Disengaging herself from arms that were suddenly without strength, Lai Hua turned, picked up the lantern, and fled.
Unable to move, Jake stood for a long moment watching as the light of Lai Hua's lantern zigzagged along the trail. It disappeared from sight, and Jake shook his head in bewilderment. It had happened so quickly. In all the times he had been bedeviled with thoughts of the future, of his parting with Lai Hua, he had never thought it would end like this.
The shadow concealed in the darkness started with surprise when Lai Hua emerged from the cabin only minutes after entering. It watched as she fled with great haste, her hand brushing away her tears.
Jake appeared in the doorway a few moments later, and the shadow remained motionless as he ran toward his horse. Waiting only until Jake had ridden out of earshot, the dark figure mounted an animal secured nearby.
Leaning low against the saddle, it spurred its mount forward to follow Jake at a cautious distance, a shadow that was unseen and unheard.
Chapter XVI
Blonde Marie made her way through the early-morning traffic of Allen Street with a quick, purposeful step. She carried herself with pride, her shoulders straight, her chin high. She smiled, dipping her head toward the familiar male faces she passed. Because of the high social position many of her clients enjoyed in Tombstone, it was her policy to exercise caution in her greetings outside her house, allowing her clients the opportunity to acknowledge her first. Her discretion had earned her establishment its excellent reputation, and she was proud of its success.
Slowing her step, Marie cast a careful glance over her shoulder. When she had stepped out of her house a few minutes earlier, Le Comte had been busily involved in a business discussion with a gentleman from San Francisco. Pierre would soon be expanding his chain of houses to smaller towns along the coast. He had brought this potential investor to her house to observe its smooth operation. She knew Le Comte would be busy impressing the gentleman for a few hours longer, at least.
Satisfied that she could proceed unobserved by anyone who mattered, Marie turned abruptly and stepped down off the sidewalk, frowning at the cloud of dust that rose to her nostrils as she crossed the street. She stepped up onto the opposite side and continued walking. Midway down the block of commercial buildings, she turned and entered the offices of Till-Dale Enterprises. She smiled sweetly at the startled clerk as he raised an inquiring glance, then spoke in her most pleasant, melodic tone, "
Bonjour, monsieur
. I should like to speak to Mr. Harvey Dale…"
Lily stiffened. Her step faltered, and the amply proportioned woman walking at her side darted a short glance up into her daughter's clear, beautiful countenance. The myriad lines in China Mary's face creased with alarm at the expression she saw there as she followed her daughter's gaze across bustling Allen Street. The same cold fury she had seen reflected in her daughter's eyes stabbed her sharply as she saw the French madam, Blond Marie, boldly enter the offices of Till-Dale Enterprises.
Mary followed her daughter, who had slipped into the shadows of a doorway. The two women watched through the window as Blond Marie spoke to the startled clerk. The fellow disappeared into an office in the rear. Within moments Harvey Dale emerged, his expression unrevealing.
Lily's smooth cheek twitched spasmodically as she suppressed the emotions Mary knew were raging within her. A familiar hatred soared anew inside Mary as she watched Harvey Dale extend his hand toward the Frenchwoman and then graciously lead her into his office. The door closed behind them, and Mary felt its soundless snap reverberate through her daughter's slender frame.
Lily stepped back onto the boardwalk, and Mary resumed her place beside her. Their pace rapid, they walked in silence, finally turning north onto Fifth Street, in the direction of the Safford Hudson Bank. The night's receipts from the fan-tan games conducted in the rear room of Mary's commercial establishment had been especially heavy, and she was pleased to be able to deposit such a hearty sum in her account. She had brought Lily with her as was her usual custom, to make certain that her beautiful daughter would become familiar with the workings of her business and the accounts she maintained. It was all for Lily, after all. The money would guarantee the prosperous future she had planned for her precious jewel, the most valued person in her life.
A familiar tension seized Mary, and she clutched her bag with a strangling grip. It had long been her desire to crush the joy from Harvey Dale's life in the same way. Even now, while he held herself estranged from her daughter, Lily suffered at his hands. Her lovely Lily…
"It appears Mr. Dale is searching for another outlet for his passions," Mary said softly.
Lily's dark eyes turned to her mother and Mary felt her daughter's pain. No, it could not be true. Lily could not care for this man who degraded her.
"No, mother, do not fear. The emotion you see in my eyes is not jealousy. It is humiliation and rage."
Mary attempted a reassuring smile. "You are free of him now, daughter."
"No, I am not." Lily smiled, bitterness evident in the curve of her delicately drawn lips. "Mr. Dale still holds secreted somewhere those papers that can destroy you. He knows I will not allow you to sacrifice all you have achieved here for me, and he knows because of that I am still subject to his whims. He seeks a subtle vengeance for the part he feels I played in the abduction of his daughter. He dangles my freedom in front of my eyes, knowing that I know he will call me to him again. He wishes to make certain I am aware that he is in control, and he now bargains to temporarily take a French whore in my place to humiliate me, to make me feel I am no more than she in his eyes."
Lily paused in an attempt to still the trembling that had beset her slender frame. Dark eyes blazing, she continued in a quaking voice, "This passion you see in me is the passion of loathing. I would be free of this man, once and for all!"
Mary gripped her daughter's arm, steadying her as they continued walking. She swallowed against the choking hatred for Harvey Dale that rose within her throat.
"Soon, daughter. Soon."
Lily took a deep breath, the conviction in her mother's tone signaling the return of more stable emotions. She breathed deeply once, twice, seeking the serenity of her inner self. She fixed her mind on the warm sun that beat down on her head, consoling her, and the fresh air that bathed her face. Control began to reestablish itself in her mind.
Mary's hand dropped from her daughter's arm as Lily's expression lost its stiffness. Realizing she had inadvertently caused her mother pain, Lily raised her chin, storing the memory of her mother's torment in her mind. She vowed in silence that for this, too, Harvey Dale would pay.
«» «» «» «» «» «» «» «» «» «» «» «»
To Harvey Dale,
If you want your daughter back alive, you will have to pay a price:
1. Stop all work in the Till-Dale mines and give the miners a month's pay in advance.
2. Turn all files on the purchase of my father's mine over to Charles Carter and, with him as a witness, transfer to me the title to my father's mine. The purchase price will be one dollar. Carter will pay it.
3. Turn over the financial records of my father's mine to Carter so he can make an accounting of all profits taken during the last three years. Open an account in my name in the Safford Hudson Bank and deposit that amount.
4. Make a written confession of the way you cheated my father and include the truth about the accident in your mine that sent me to jail. Give the confession to the federal marshal. Have copies printed and posted around town.
Don't get the sheriff or the marshal involved in this except as instructed. You're being watched. Don't try any tricks or your daughter will suffer.
Ross Morrison
A hard smile played around Ross's lips as he gave the ransom note a last cursory glance. He had had a long time to compose that list of demands. Three long years…
Ross glanced up from the letter, his smile dimming. Jake had been unnaturally silent since he arrived from Tombstone a short time before.
''What's the matter, Jake?"
Jake shook his head. "
Nothin
'…
nothin's
the matter."
"You aren't fooling me, Jake. I know that look. You're holding something back."
Jake shook his head, his eyes darting toward Devina, who was tending a bubbling pot at the fireplace. "It's just like I told you. The sheriffs been out almost every day
lookin
' for her, but he hasn't turned up
anythin
'. Half the town thinks Carter had a part in the
kidnappin
', and gossip has it Dale's
tryin
' to get Carter thrown out of town. He isn't
goin
' to get his way, though. Too many people are
standin
' up for the doctor."
Ross gave a low snort. "Yes, I know. The town loves him."
"Anyways, Dale's
runnin
' around like a crazy damned fool,
makin
' enemies and
accomplishin
'
nothin
'. The whole town's
talkin
'."
"Bastard."
The muttered expletive from the direction of the fireplace snapped both men's heads toward Devina. Jake's startled expression elicited a caustic comment from Ross. "That's right, Jake. The lady has a surprising vocabulary. As a matter of fact, the lady's not much of a lady at all."